England beat India by four runs to reach the final of the Physically Disabled Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.
England’s victory means they go top of the four-team table and are guaranteed to finish in the top two, along with India, so the two countries meet again in Tuesday’s final.
India beat England in their first group game earlier this week, but the latter exacted their revenge on Saturday, securing victory from the last ball of the match as they successfully defended a total of 169-7.
India needed 12 runs from the last over after some explosive overs before after the first ball went for a six, England’s Liam O’Brien managed to get a wicket and bowl three balls.
“It was a really good game,” said England’s Alex Hammond, who top-scored with a 33-ball 55 and 1-22.
“India bowled well with the new ball and we lost a few early wickets, it was good to see Jamie Goodwin get us off to a good start with a couple of boundaries at the top.
“Coming out of the powerplay we lost three of the four wickets, so Angus Brown and I were together quite early on. He was great to bat with, he gave me a bit more time to adjust and let me start running the ball.
“We were in a good position after getting to 170. The bowlers started brilliantly at the top, Jordan Williams was excellent in all series and he was again, supported by Liam O’Brien, Callum Flynn and Anthony Clapham.”
England confident ahead of Tuesday’s final
England lost early wickets, but Hammond and Angus Brown steadied the ship in the middle order, both securing their first half-centuries of the tournament.
“They are not invincible. We proved that in India last year and we proved that now,” Hammond said. “Once we get rid of that fear and get our skills back, we’re really competitive.
“We haven’t had a perfect game yet. If we had started better, we could have got 180, 190 or 200. Even with the ball at the end, our first 15 balls were excellent, but maybe not at the end.”
Brown added: “We are very confident. We support our skills and each other. We will learn from this game. We can’t expect to lose so many wickets in the early stages but we are confident going into the final.”
